The information provided below is not admitted to be prior art to the present invention, but is provided solely to assist the understanding of the reader.
Computer chips operate at ever greater power densities as circuits are packed more and more closely together. This higher power density can not be effectively accommodated by traditional methods of cooling. Higher power consumption without concomitant heat removal leads to higher chip operating temperatures which can result in severe reliability, performance, and lifetime concerns. FIG. 1 shows a schematic of a conventional cooling solution comprising a chip mounted on a ceramic module and a heat transfer paste applied to the top surface of the chip and squeezed against a heat sink. This creates a sandwich of a thermal paste between the chip and the heat sink. Heat sinks typically have fin structures that transfer heat, generated by the chip, to air, blown across the fins by a fan. The rate of heat transfer of such cooling designs is limited by the thermal conductivity of the gap filling material. There exists a need to provide heat-transfer pastes having improved thermal conductivity properties.